The Wind's Call (The Broken Lands #4) - T.A. White Page 0,78

and debris. She covered her head, stopping and sending a disbelieving glance at the giants, only to dive to the side as another boulder landed next to the first.

"Of course, they're throwing rocks," Eva muttered. "Why would anything in this cursed land ever be easy?"

Two of the stone giants started down the hill, their gait unwieldy and awkward.

Eva ran for her life.

If she'd known the roots were connected to them in some way, she never would have cut them. Gods above, she never would have stepped foot on the ridge in the first place.

"This is all your fault," Eva told the fox.

He yipped a response as she swerved to avoid being crushed by another boulder.

She chanced a quick look over her shoulder. Despite their slow awkward strides, the giants were gaining on her.

She faced forward again, ignoring the panic that wanted to consume her. Focus on what she could do, that was the key to survival. Right now, she could run—and run she would, until there wasn't breath in her body.

The valley was narrow and long as Eva raced through it, not wanting to chance losing time on the steep slopes and sheer cliffs where the giants would be able to pluck her from the sides and then fling her to her death.

Scenarios ran through her head, each worse than the last.

The ground thundered under her from the force of their footsteps. A scream ripped from her as a sudden force caught her around her waist and lifted her.

She thrashed, intent on fighting until the very last minute.

"Stop, you idiot! You'll kill us both," Caden shouted in her ear.

Eva turned, gasping as he settled her in front of him on his horse. Behind his shoulder the giants loomed large.

"What are you doing here?" Eva shouted, her heart in her throat.

"Saving your ass." Caden flicked the reins and leaned forward, the motion forcing her to bend with him. The fox let out a small complaint from its place against her chest where he'd burrowed into her shirt. He stuck his head out of her collar, causing Caden to curse.

That was all the time they had before he kicked his mount into a gallop.

Eva caught the rhythm easily, letting her body flow with the horse's as they thundered down the valley, gradually putting distance between them and the giants.

The sound of hooves drumming against the dirt, the harsh breathing of Caden behind her, her heart beating double-time were all that filled Eva's ears as they raced away.

.

The valley flew by, Nell taking a small creek in a single leap. It felt like his hooves barely touched ground as he carried them away from danger.

Eva chanced a glance behind her. The giants were falling further and further behind. A few had already given up, shambling back to their ridgetop beds.

She caught the shape of one returning to its slumber, burrowing back into the ridge as if it was a blanket that could be pulled over it.

"Unbelievable," she muttered.

"Welcome to the insanity," Caden said sourly.

CHAPTER ELEVEN

Nell ran until his sides heaved and a slick lather coated his body. Caden pulled up on the reins, slowing the stallion to a trot and then a walk. Eva glanced behind to see the last of the giants had finally turned back.

"I find it interesting that as soon as I spot you, you're fleeing from trouble," he observed.

Eva was too tired to give him the glare he deserved. He could pick and prod all he wanted, if the end result was him saving her from being squashed like a bug. She was gracious enough to allow him his misconceptions.

"Where's the Kyren?" Caden asked.

Eva stiffened, danger of a different sort making itself known. The words to confess her failure stuck in her throat.

The fox raced up to her shoulder, chattering at Caden and distracting him.

"I see you've attracted another beast."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Eva asked, twisting in her seat to see his face.

"Only that you seem to have made a habit of drawing the weird and the odd to you," he said, offering the little creature his hand and letting him smell it.

Eva snorted dismissively. "This is the Highlands. The only sort of creatures here are the weird and the odd."

"Is that so?" Caden said thoughtfully. His expression was contemplative. "Interesting, isn’t it then, that as soon as you flew off those water sprites stopped their attack?"

"Maybe they finally realized the Trateri didn’t make for easy prey," Eva pointed out, not liking what he was insinuating—that she was